Study finds women’s faces rated more attractive than men’s across cultures
The Story
A new study analyzing facial attractiveness ratings from 76 countries has found that female faces are consistently rated as more attractive than male faces, including by women raters. Researchers compiled the world’s largest dataset on the topic, drawing from 52 studies with more than 1.5 million ratings of 17,000 faces from nearly 30,000 raters. The analysis found that the average female face is rated more attractive than about 60% of male faces, with the effect strongest in the West and persisting across sexual orientations. However, the perceived attractiveness gap declines with age and nearly disappears by the time people reach their 80s. The study, led by Dr Eugen Wassiliwizky of the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, attributes part of the effect to sex differences in facial structure, with rounder faces found more attractive. The findings are published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study does not explain the ultimate reason for the preference, though Wassiliwizky noted that a purely cultural explanation is unlikely given the cross-cultural consistency. The research also references earlier work by Charles Darwin and Susan Sontag on the topic.
Key Facts
- The study used more than 1.5 million ratings of 17,000 faces from nearly 30,000 raters across 52 studies and 76 countries.
- Female faces were rated more attractive than male faces by both male and female raters.
- Women gave other women the highest ratings and gave the lowest ratings to men.
- The attractiveness gap was strongest in the West but still evident across heterosexual, gay, bisexual, and lesbian raters.
- When men and women rated themselves, the gap disappeared.
- The gap steadily declined from age 18 and vanished at about age 80, as male and female faces become more similar structurally.
- The study was led by Dr Eugen Wassiliwizky, a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics.
Conflicting Reports
No conflicting reports identified in the source article.
Still Unclear
The study does not explain the reason for the general preference for female faces. While Wassiliwizky believes there is more than culture at play, he noted that it is possible that hundreds of thousands of years of sexual selection have shaped female faces, but the data cannot confirm that.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
- Dr Eugen Wassiliwizky: research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
- Charles Darwin: Victorian naturalist referenced in the article
- Susan Sontag: American writer referenced for her 1972 essay “The Double Standard of Aging”
Sources: The Guardian
